Monica’s Chapter #3

Monica Marine Biology Internship Maldives (6) turtle on reef

Photographing wild sea turtles on the reef

My time as a Reefscapers marine biology intern has come to an end in the Maldives, but I still have some adventures to share from my final month working at Landaa Giravaaru. (You can find my Chapter #2 here).

This month, I was able to present my Masters’ thesis (toxicology in loggerhead turtles in the Canary Islands), and I can now finally say that I am a marine biologist. It has been a dream of mine to finish this chapter of my career, and achieved while working here as a marine biologist… a real accomplishment!

Monica Marine Biology Internship Maldives (9) diving

I’ve been spending many hours underwater!

Monica Marine Biology Internship Maldives (7) turtle care

Weekly checkup, weigh-in and clean for our turtle patients

I continued working with the stranded sea turtle patients here at Landaa, from feeding and cleaning, to helping with various research projects. I’m going to miss them when I’m gone! We recently took two of our turtle patients, Maw and Artemis, out to the ocean enclosure to help their rehabilitation, where they have extra space in a more natural environment.

Monica Marine Biology Internship Maldives (5) PADI womens dive

One of the most special moments of this month was the PADI Women’s Dive Day. All the girls from Reefscapers and Manta Trust joined the dive centre for two dives. The dives were amazing as we saw so much marine life, from mantas and eagle rays to green and hawksbill turtles, black tip reef sharks, different species of fish, and a lot of invertebrates. To commemorate the day, we also made a special boat-shaped coral frame.

Monica Marine Biology Internship Maldives (8) reef regeneration

Regular monitoring and maintenance of our Reefscapers coral frames

Monica Marine Biology Internship Maldives (4) bespoke coral reef design

We make occasional bespoke custom reef designs (this one to mark PADI Womens’ Day)

I ended my month building many new coral frames with Resort guests, swimming with lots of mantas in Hanifaru Bay, and going on my first manta ID trip. We also encountered hundreds of cetaceans on the dolphin cruises, and spent a lot of time in the water surrounded by so many different marine species.

Monica Marine Biology Internship Maldives (3) manta

My time at Reefscapers has taught me so much. During these three short but busy months, I was able to learn many new things about marine creatures and ocean conservation, and I improved my skills, embraced a new culture, and met some great people. I thank everyone at Marine Savers for embracing me as part of their team, and for all their patience and knowledge shared.

I will always be grateful for this opportunity.

See you soon
Mônica de Luna 🌊
Monica Marine Biology Internship Maldives (2) manta
Marine Savers - Employment Opportunities, Job Vacancies, Careers

Do you want to experience life as a marine biologist
here in the Maldives ?

Head over to our Employment page to read about the different ways you can work with us - full time, apprentice or intern.
And see more from our Interns in their very own words & photos as part of our Diary / Blog series.

... sharks and rays and fish of every imaginable colour, living right on my doorstep, welcomed me to my marine biology internship. It was utter bliss.
I often lose myself in the work here: taking care of the turtles; accompanying guests on boat trips and snorkelling excursions; showing young children the excitement of what it is to be a marine biologist; the positive impact that we are making here ... the days are flying by.

Laura (UK) 2022

After graduating in July ... My first month here has been nothing short of incredible, with a variety of different projects keeping us very busy.
Coral spawning is an amazing event I never expected to be able to witness, with hundreds of floating coral eggs appearing like a blizzard of snow in the water column.

Matt (Singapore) 2022

Work is busy but always rewarding – it makes my day when the guests tell me how their snorkel excursion was an epic experience!
“I can’t believe you secured such a dream job … You are so lucky to live in the Maldives!” This, I know for certain! 😊

Jenn (UK) 2021

I have recently graduated in Zoology and taken a year out to gain work experience before starting my Master’s. Working here has been an incredible experience and there’s so much more to learn about the turtle, fish and coral work.
The internship is made even better by the fact that the Marine Savers team is amazing and it’s a tropical paradise here! 🌴

Ellie (UK) 2020

Kihineh (/kiːhiːne/) ! 🙂 Not a day in my experience has been anything short of sensational ... every aspiring marine biologist must consider the opportunity to live and work here as a dream and privilege.
Meeting people, young and old, from all four corners of the globe, educating and showing them our rich marine biodiversity and sea life has been wonderful.

Maanee (Maldives) 2020

Typically, each day involves a solid 7 hours in the water … which we LOVE! 💙 We finished with a grand total of over 18,000 coral fragments collected and transplanted!
A huge thanks to the whole team at Marine Savers ... We had an absolutely amazing time.

Martyna & Sorin (2019)

As part of my Master’s degree, I am researching the size of coral fragments on the overall health of the Reefscapers coral frames.
I am so incredibly thankful for the opportunity to gain experience in my field ... I’ve enjoyed every second and have made some lifelong friends.

Olivia (UK) 2019

I am in a gap year between my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees to gain working experience ... across all the different projects ... I built coral frames, and helped with cultivation and rearing of the rotifers, artemia and jellyfish juveniles in the fish lab.

Lotte (Germany) 2019

I’ve spent ten weeks as a marine biology intern, and I’m having a fantastic time! There is so much to learn: Turtle care, Fish Lab and Coral propagation, turtle safari, night snorkel, dolphin cruise.
I was lucky enough to see around 20 Mantas feeding on the ocean surface … which was incredible!

Chathu (Sri Lanka) 2019

When arriving here, the first challenge is getting used to life on the island, your new everyday routine and the functioning of the Marine Discovery Centre. Luckily, all this is made as easy as possible by the friendly and helpful staff.
For my project, I will be assessing the growth rate of the coral frames that are located around the island as part of the Reefscapers coral restoration programme.

Louise (France) 2019

There are large numbers of adult Olive Ridley turtles drifting to the Maldives trapped in discarded (ghost) fishing gear, often wounded and dehydrated when they’re rescued.
With the annual coral bleaching event expected in the coming weeks, I hope to collect enough data to analyse the effects of shading the coral frames from the sun on the corals’ resilience to bleaching.

Julia (UK) 2019

For my intern project, I have been analysing the recorded megafauna sightings from our snorkel and dive trips. By collating the various species and different locations around the atoll, we can increase our knowledge about local populations and their movements.

Rafaela (Portugal) 2019

I’ve always wanted to visit the Maldives, so being an intern here at Marine Savers has been a dream come true … time has really flown by!
being able to watch beautiful sunsets while cruising next to 100 spinner dolphins is unreal … definitely one of my favourite parts of the job!

Juliet (USA) 2018

... the Marine Savers and Manta Trust teams are amazing people to work with and I thank them for what they taught me ... I gained here an impressive amount of knowledge and experience!
I also worked on a personal project, studying Acropora species corals under the microscope.

Léa (France) 2018

I’ve spent time learning about the different aspects of the Marine Discovery Centre: the turtle care, the Fish Lab and about the coral frames. After shadowing a few times to learn the ropes, I am now leading turtle safaris, guided adventure snorkels and dolphin cruises for the guests.

Saphire (UK) 2018

There was a lot to learn during my first weeks here, and it's all hands on deck with turtle rehabilitation and care.
My thesis is on coral speciation, but all my work with DNA fragments was confined to the lab, so it is exciting for me to fill the gap and finally be working with corals in the water.

Tiana (Hong Kong) 2018

Coming straight out of Uni, I never thought I would get the opportunity to even visit the Maldives, let alone work in such a beautiful place!
It has been a very exciting month, with some green turtle hatchlings from a nest at Landaa Giraavaru, and the release of one of our mature Olive Ridleys with a satellite tag!

Tori (Australia) 2018

My first few weeks have flown by! I’m working on a technique called coral microfragmentation, cutting corals into small pieces to study their growth rates.
I have also been leading some snorkel excursions and dolphin cruises, which is a wonderful way to explore the beautiful Baa Atoll area.

Thije (Netherlands) 2018

I helped improve the Fish Breeding Programme protocols, to increase the number of eggs laid, the quality of larvae and the larvae survival rate of the two clownfish species.
Swimming with manta rays with the Manta Trust scientists will long burn in my memory.

Jean-Gabriel (France) 2017

When I heard about the bleaching event of 2016, I felt completely powerless and didn’t want to just sit back and wait for the coral ecosystem to disappear from our planet. I therefore decided to work on coral bleaching, specifically trying to understand why some corals had survived these events whilst others didn’t.

Greg (Belgium) 2017

After spending several months with the Marine Savers team at Landaa Giraavaru, I can say for sure it was one of the best experiences of my life! I was able to help with the variety of different projects at the Marine Discovery Centre, and had the pleasure of working with an amazing team of dedicated biologists. One thing I really liked about my internship was being able to work independently and to have a lot of responsibility from the beginning.

Vanessa (2017)

I cannot believe how much has already happened in such a short period of time … during my first week, I learnt so many new things that I thought my head might explode!
Snorkelling is a big part of the job, and the best snorkel trip I have experienced included 15 reef sharks, multiple hawksbill turtles, a pair of eagle rays, octopus and stingrays.

Hannah (Australia) 2017

It is wonderful to share my marine passions and experiences with the lovely team at Marine Savers Kuda Huraa. I really feel so lucky to be living this tremendous experience.
Apart from enjoying my every working day, even my off-days are great fun too ! The ‘Tropicsurf’ guys have been helping improve my surfing technique, and I am finally able to perform a proper take off and enjoy the ‘Sultans’, the typical Maldivian wave.

Irene (Spain) 2017

Days spent at Landaa Giraavaru are always ones to look forward to, as each day has its own fascinating adventures.
I spend most of the time working with the 6 Olive Ridleys ... it is my first time being up-close-and-personal with injured sea turtles. We follow treatment and diet plans that specially cater to each individual patient, and each turtle has their own unique personality.

Lynn (Malaysia) 2017

The team were excellent teachers (thank you!) and everyone was very patient so I learnt very quickly.
I will always be eternally grateful for this opportunity ... A very sincere thank you from the bottom of my heart for everyone’s encouragement, hard work and dedication. My short time here has allowed me to learn so many things that otherwise might not have been possible.
The memories I have forged here will always have a special place in my heart ♡ … what a wonderful country!

Janice (Singapore) 2017

From literally stepping out of the airport and onto the resort speedboat, I was completely blown away by how amazing the Maldives is; hot sun, blue skies, and crystal-clear waters … paradise!
In my first week, I spent a lot of time learning about and working with the resident sea turtles ... Caring for these turtles has been great fun and each one has its own personality.
... we were lucky to encounter a large pod of false killer whales, which was an incredible experience!
The teams at both resorts are a fantastic group of people and I enjoyed every moment working with them all.

Mark (UK) 2016

The first week was a busy one as three new rehab turtles turned up in three consecutive days. I have also been busy with guest snorkel trips, dolphin cruises, scientific projects, coral reef monitoring and surfing world class waves at the local breaks!
I have been here for the last five wonderful weeks ... such great fun and every day is so varied ... to learn all I can about the amazing marine life in the Maldives.

Adam (UK) 2016

Each morning I caught the local 8:15 ferry boat … much better than the bus in Germany!
One day we went to a nearby uninhabited agricultural island, to collect some turtle hatchlings and release them out in the open water. Another great experience was the manta boat-trip ... for one whole day we searched for mantas in different sites around Baa Atoll.
All in all I can say that my 6 weeks’ volunteering ... was a great experience, I met a lot of nice and very friendly people and I learned a lot about turtles, fish species and corals in the beautiful tropical waters around the Maldives.

Nicole (Germany) 2016

The Marine Savers team is great fun to work with, and I couldn’t have asked for a better location to gain some experience in environmental conservation.
It was wonderful to be around so many people who share my passion for the underwater world, and I hope it’s not too long before I’m back beneath the waves in the Maldives!

Dhiya (Sri Lanka) 2016

Every day was a different adventure, with turtles to treat, corals to transplant, talks to give and dolphins to spot. It is always a thrill to (see) the juvenile Spinner dolphins, who stick very close to their mothers but are often the most acrobatic jumpers, putting the ‘spin’ in Spinner. Sometimes we were lucky to spot manta rays too.
I am very grateful to the Marine Savers team ... It has strengthened my desire to work in marine conservation and I hope to be back in the Maldives one day!

Roz (UK) 2016

You can see some breathtaking marine life here in the Maldives, and every time I’m in the water I feel constantly in awe of my surroundings ... 2 mantas at a cleaning station swam through our dive group, getting extremely close!
These activities, along with the people I have met along the way have ... made the experience so enjoyable and memorable.

Emily (UK) 2016

I had never seen a turtle this large before, which was a whole new experience for me in itself ... It took 6 people to get this amazing turtle out of the water and into the boat.
I have even started leading some of the snorkel safaris around nearby reefs, an incredibly rewarding experience to be sharing information and experiences with people. My favourite moments have often been on our dolphin cruises, the incredible spinner dolphins never cease to amaze me as they throw their bodies high above the water surface. That is certainly a sight I will never get tired of!

Sophie (UK) 2015

Taking time off work to travel all the way to the Maldives to care for sea turtles might seem a crazy idea to some; for me, however, it was the chance of a lifetime. This was the perfect opportunity to leave my office desk in the concrete jungle of Hong Kong and take part in something meaningful in a unique part of the world.
I have had a tremendous time, and have made friends with a lot of lovely people from around the world. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and would definitely like to come back some day to visit everyone… and the sea turtles too, of course!

Keith (Hong Kong) 2015

Winy and Hazel had a very busy and enjoyable time, working with our turtle care patients and the Reefscapers coral propagation programme.
They also helped with an important reef clean-up, and had a memorable day releasing baby turtle hatchlings into the ocean.

Winy & Hazel (Hong Kong) 2015

Every day since I have arrived has been an adventure!
I am witnessing new and amazing things every day, from sunsets to 'Spanish Dancers' ! It’s a wonderful experience as we share underwater marine life encounters, and I have actually lost count of how many sharks, dolphins and turtles I’ve encountered since I arrived ... and it’s magical every time.

Cath (UK) 2015

The care and rehabilitation of the turtles here is very satisfying work.
In just a short few weeks, I have seen Spinner Dolphins, Hawksbill Turtles, Black Tip Reef Sharks and of course lots of colourful and varied marine life ... a wonderful moment each time!

Mailis (Belgium) 2015

All of the experiences have allowed me to make many new friends and gain knowledge and memories that will never be forgotten.
Thank you to everyone for making my time here so enjoyable!

Beth (UK) 2015

A very enjoyable part of my job is spreading awareness to the public, to promote better understanding and appreciation for the marine ecosystem. We recently organised a school excursion ... seeing these enthusiastic children learning about the environment brings me joy and hope.
My time here has been an amazing experience ... more than just swimming with the fishes and being surrounded by beautiful reefs!

Adrelia (Singapore) 2014

Frédéric was a PhD student and lecturer at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, specialising in ecology and tropical marine biology.
During his time with us, Frédéric researched indigenous Echinoderms, and possibly discovered a previously undocumented new species of sea cucumber.

Frédéric (France) 2014

Glen worked with us in 2014, developing a shark population survey to study local populations of Blacktip Reef sharks using a variety of survey methods including underwater camera traps, and snorkel surveys.

Glen (UK) 2014

One of our first interns, Dylan (from Singapore's Temasek Polytechnic) had an amazingly unique experience with us.
Firstly, he helped with the rescue of a stranded false killer whale 'Haita' (although she sadly did not survive rehabilitation).
And then he was invited to the “Marine Mammal Stranding Symposium” (February 2013), to present our work and findings to fellow marine biologists.

Dylan (Singapore) 2012